Giving Thanks
“… giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honours me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.” Psalm 50:23
In Luke 17, Ten lepers met Jesus along the way and asked for his mercy obviously for healing. They stood at a distance because leppers were not to mingle. Jesus showed them mercy by telling them to go show themselves to the priest in faith. They believed Jesus and proceeded to meet the priest.
On the way, one of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him, and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? …was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” Luke 17:15-19
What does Jesus mean, “Your faith has made you well”?
It means Sozo in Greek. Sozo means salvation – true wellness, complete wholeness, full restoration in spirit, soul and body.
So in essence, Jesus was saying to the grateful lepper, “Thy faith has saved thee.” The leper’s faith was a faith that said thank you!
The Lord counts thanksgiving as an integral part of a faith that saves. We enter into the full life when our faith gives thanks.
Thanksgiving is the evidence of our acceptance of whatever He gives. It is the manifestation of our Yes! to His grace.
Thanksgiving is necessary to live the ‘well, whole, restored and fullest life’.
Thanksgiving in everything prepares the way that God might show us His fullest restoration in Christ. (Psalm 50:23)
How often do you remember to say thank you to God for all He has done?